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Bruins Recall Jordan Oesterle

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The Bruins have recalled defenseman Jordan Oesterle from AHL Providence, per Conor Ryan of The Boston Globe. He’ll slot into the lineup for his Bruins debut if Hampus Lindholm, who left Tuesday’s game against the Blues with a lower-body injury, can’t play Thursday in Dallas.

Oesterle, 32, is in his first season with the Bruins after inking a two-year, two-way deal in free agency over the summer. The veteran of 371 NHL games is no longer a full-time fixture at the game’s highest level and has now seen minor-league assignments in back-to-back seasons, but he’s still a capable call-up option who can log third-pairing minutes without much fuss.

The Michigan native spent last season with the Flames, posting two assists and a -6 rating in 22 games while averaging 13:31 per night. He controlled 48.6% of shot attempts at even strength, his highest number since the 2017-18 season.

Oesterle is off to a hot start with the P-Bruins, where he serves as an alternate captain and leads defensemen in scoring with three goals and five assists in nine games. The Bruins had a pair of open roster spots after sending down Matthew Poitras earlier in the week, so no corresponding roster fanfare is needed to accommodate Oesterle’s recall.

It’ll be a tough break for the hot-and-cold Bruins if Lindholm misses any length of time, although he hasn’t been labeled anything aside from day-to-day yet. The 30-year-old is the only Boston defender to post a Corsi share over 50% at even strength this season and leads Bruins blue-liners in scoring with seven points (3 G, 4 A) in 17 games.

Bruins Reassign Matthew Poitras

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The Bruins announced on Monday that they’ve sent second-year center Matthew Poitras to AHL Providence. They now have two open roster spots, although it’s unclear when or if they intend to fill either of them.

Poitras, 20, hasn’t entirely looked like the player who forced his way onto Boston’s opening night roster last year and had cemented a top-nine role before a shoulder injury ended his season in January. He’s played in all 14 Bruins games since sitting out the first two contests of the season with an undisclosed injury but hasn’t made much of an impact, with only one goal and three assists while averaging 12:44 per game, down slightly from last season’s average ice time.

The 2022 second-round pick has shown improvement in the faceoff dot, winning 50.9% of his draws compared to 43.7% last season. But he’s played more at wing than center this season, regardless, and he’s regressed slightly in nearly every other area of the game. He’s got only 10 shots on goal compared to 40 in 33 games last season, and his possession quality numbers have regressed from a 51.5 xGF% in 2023-24 to a 44.8 xGF% so far in 2024-25. That’s despite the Bruins controlling the same percentage of scoring chances at 5-on-5 – 48.4% – as they did last season.

Last season, it was either the NHL or major junior for Poitras, who was coming off a spectacular 95-point showing with the OHL’s Guelph Storm in 2022-23. Now that he’s old enough for a full-time AHL assignment, it’s not entirely surprising to see the Bruins take advantage of that fact to get him some development time against easier competition while still playing in a professional enviroment.

Poitras being removed from the active roster will mean more playing time for Morgan Geekie, who’s been a healthy scratch on multiple occasions this season and has just two assists in 11 games after recording a career-high 17 goals and 39 points last year. In fact, Geekie will get a look as Boston’s top-line left wing alongside Pavel Zacha and David Pastrňák tomorrow against the Blues as the Bruins look to gain ground after a 7-7-2 start.

Poitras still has one season left after this one on his entry-level contract with a cap hit of $870K.

Bruins Sign Loke Johansson To Three-Year Entry-Level Contract

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The Bruins announced they’ve signed defense prospect Loke Johansson to a three-year, entry-level contract. It will carry a cap hit of $860K, but minor-league salary and bonus details were not disclosed.

Johansson, 19 next month, was a sixth-round pick of the Bruins in this year’s draft (No. 186 overall). The stay-at-home defender was selected mainly due to his size – he’s already 6’3″ and 214 lbs.

He’s not just a heavy hitter and enforcer, though. Johansson flashed legitimate upside last year playing professionally in Sweden. A part of the AIK organization, he had 13 points and a +5 rating in 33 appearances with their U-20 club. He also made his professional debut, appearing in 19 games for the senior club in the second-tier HockeyAllsvenskan while holding his own with an assist and a +1 rating.

The Stockholm native made the jump to North America for 2024-25, just not to play pro hockey. He’s remaining at the major junior level after being selected in the CHL Import Draft by the QMJHL’s Moncton Wildcats. Through 15 games with the club, he has a goal and four assists with 16 PIMs and a +9 rating.

Elite Prospects calls his brand of hockey “simple,” adding that “he’s a technically sound skater, able to cover a lot of ground with his four-way mobility and general shiftiness.” Since he wasn’t selected from a CHL club and instead arrived in Moncton after being drafted, he’s not subject to the NHL-CHL transfer agreement and could now theoretically head to AHL Providence at any time after signing his ELC. It’s fair to assume the Bruins will leave him on loan to Moncton for the remainder of the season for development purposes, though.

As such, Johansson’s contract will slide for at least one season as he won’t appear in at least 10 NHL contests in 2024-25. The same could happen next season if he doesn’t get into 10 games in 2025-26. If there are signing bonuses in the contract, the cap hit of the deal will decrease slightly with each slide, as those get paid out regardless of whether the contract goes into effect.

Bruins’ Andrew Peeke Out Week-To-Week

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An upper-body injury is expected to keep Bruins defenseman Andrew Peeke on the shelf for multiple weeks, head coach Jim Montgomery told Joe Haggerty of Boston Sports Journal.

Peeke sustained the injury on Tuesday night versus the Maple Leafs, leaving the game in the first period after being hit by Max Pacioretty (video link via Sportsnet). Pacioretty was not penalized on the play.

A second-round pick of the Blue Jackets back in 2016, Peeke has flashed upside as a physical stay-at-home defender but was overtaxed in a top-four role in Columbus during his first couple of years as a full-time NHLer. He’s received reduced minutes since the beginning of the 2023-24 campaign and was acquired by the Bruins at the trade deadline for a 2027 third-round pick and Jakub Zbořil. He’s played a third-pairing role on a nightly basis for the Bruins through the first month of this season, however, only being healthy scratched once. The right-shot defenseman is averaging 16:12 per game and has logged two assists, ranking third on the team with 21 blocks.

The Bruins will look to Mason Lohrei and Parker Wotherspoon to factor in on a nightly basis with Peeke out after both were healthy scratches multiple times in the early going. Boston will likely make a recall from AHL Providence in the coming days to have an extra healthy defenseman on hand, and since they have an open roster spot, they can do so without placing Peeke on injured reserve. That could be veteran Jordan Oesterle, who’s appeared in parts of 10 straight NHL seasons with the Oilers, Blackhawks, Coyotes, Red Wings, and Flames and has six points in six games for the P-Bruins to start the season.

Bruins Place Max Jones On Waivers

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Nov. 6: Jones cleared waivers, per Friedman. He’s on his way to the AHL.

Nov. 5: The Bruins have placed winger Max Jones on waivers with intentions to assign him to AHL Providence, Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet reports Tuesday.

Jones, 26, is in the first season of a two-year, $2MM contract he signed with Boston over the summer after being non-tendered by the Ducks. Despite his seven-figure cap hit, he’s played sparingly this season. He’s been scratched for nine out of the Bruins’ 13 games this season, including their back-to-back contests against the Flyers and Kraken over the weekend. When dressed, he’s averaged 11:13 per game and has no points and a -4 rating. His possession numbers have been abysmal – the Bruins control just 29.7% of shot attempts and 14.3% of expected goals with Jones on the ice at even strength.

With Tyler Johnson now in the fold after finally inking a one-year, league-minimum deal yesterday following a months-long stint on a professional tryout, there was likely a corresponding roster move coming. It wasn’t out of necessity – Boston was at the 23-man roster limit with no rush to open space – but they’ve only carried one extra forward and one extra defenseman this season. Given that Jones ranks last on the team in nearly every meaningful statistic, it’s no surprise that he hit the wire.

If Jones clears waivers, it would mark his first AHL assignment in five years. The Anaheim 2016 first-round pick last played for their AHL affiliate in San Diego in the 2018-19 campaign.

All of Jones’ 31 career goals and 62 career points have come in a Ducks jersey. He made 258 regular-season appearances for the team over six years before being let go in June.

The Bruins will clear Jones’ $1MM cap hit tomorrow, regardless of whether he’s claimed. If he makes it through waivers and is subsequently assigned to Providence, that cap hit is below the $1.15MM maximum buriable threshold, so it won’t count against Boston’s books. He’s still under contract through the 2025-26 campaign and will be an unrestricted free agent upon expiry.

Trent Frederic Will Have Plenty Of Suitors In Free Agency

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In an unsurprising but notable report, ESPN’s Kevin Weekes shares that Boston Bruins forward Trent Frederic should have plenty of interest in his services once he becomes an unrestricted free agent on July 1st, 2025. Frederic has developed into a prototypical Bruins forward, combining physicality and toughness with a knack for goal-scoring.

Frederic plays a similar style to Washington Capitals forward Tom Wilson although he hasn’t racked up nearly the number of PIMs as the veteran. From 2022-24, Frederic scored 35 goals and 71 points in 161 games for the Bruins while also collecting 309 hits. He has more experience down the middle which should give him some extra value but his career 44.4% success rate in the dot leaves a lot to be desired.

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Boston Bruins Sign Tyler Johnson

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Veteran forward Tyler Johnson finally has a resolution on his professional tryout agreement with the Boston Bruins. The organization announced they signed Johnson to a one-year contract for the 2024-25 season with a league minimum salary of $775K.

According to PuckPedia, the move brings Boston to a full 23-man roster with a current cap space of approximately $515K. Outside of the team’s fourth line, the Bruins have had little consistency from the rest of their forward line to start the year meaning Johnson should begin somewhere in the team’s middle six.

He’s no longer the typical 50-point threat during his time with the Tampa Bay Lightning but brings Stanley Cup pedigree to an organization that has failed to move beyond the second round of the playoffs since 2019. He’s spent the last three years on a rebuilding Chicago Blackhawks team scoring 32 goals and 70 points in 149 games while producing a -64 rating. The Bruins shouldn’t expect that Johnson’s addition to the lineup will bring them out of their current 27th-ranked offense but he should help out in a few other areas.

Johnson is a much better player on the defensive side of the puck than his tenure with the Blackhawks suggested which should theoretically help lower Boston’s 3.23 GA/G. The Bruins are also one of the league’s worst possession teams at 24th with a 48.3% CorsiFor% in all situations. Johnson has maintained a 52.1% CF% throughout his career including a 49.7% average during his time in Chicago.

He may also feature on the Bruins’ penalty kill but it’s unlikely league-average production with a man disadvantage is a priority to fix with more pressing issues at hand. On paper, the move strikes as a positive move in the right direction for a struggling Boston team but not necessarily the game-changing impact they appear to need.

Brad Marchand Denies Report On Extension

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9:48 PM: Marchand himself has rejected the earlier report from Friedman. In a short conversation with Matt Vautour of Mass Live Sports, Marchand said, “I’m not big about talking about contract stuff in the media. But that report from Elliotte is false. Elliotte is just wrong. That’s about it“.

8:46 PM: A few moments ago on Sportsnet’s ’Saturday Headlines’ segment, Elliotte Friedman reported the Boston Bruins are close to extending their captain Brad Marchand. Friedman indicated the extension would be a three-year term but didn’t offer any insights on the deal’s salary.

It’s a distinct change of mood in Boston after Marchand and head coach Jim Montgomery passionately exchanged pleasantries in last week’s overtime loss against the Utah Hockey Club. A turnover by Marchand led to a game-tying goal by Utah (the goal was later overturned upon review) and Mongtomery was visibly frustrated with Marchand’s response.

Both Marchand and Montgomery downplayed the interaction with the latter saying, “Between Marchy and I, there didn’t need to be a conversation. Him and I are both emotional people. I’m not ecstatic with myself about it, but I don’t think about it afterwards and neither does he. He’s a pro. He’s a great player that does so many good things for us, and he has high expectations as well. So, for us, that’s over and done with“.

The frustrations are understandable for a Bruins team struggling out of the gates. Boston holds a 3-4-1 record through eight games but appears headed toward a victory against the Toronto Maple Leafs this evening.

It’s difficult to say Marchand hasn’t been a part of the problem either. The entire blame can’t be placed on his shoulders but his play on the defensive side of the puck continues to depreciate and he’s only managed five assists this season.

There’s understandable expected regression for a player heading into his age-37 season on his next contract. Still, the Bruins have continued to rely upon Marchand well into the back half of his career. Since his age-31 season in 2019-20, Marchand has scored 139 goals and 370 points for Boston in 348 games (excluding this year’s results) while averaging just over 19 minutes of ice time per night.

His playoff exploits are well-known, and it could be one of this extension’s major contributing factors. Marchand hasn’t carried Boston back to the Stanley Cup Final since turning 31 but has been one of the most consistent postseason talents in franchise history scoring 26 goals and 55 points in 49 games from 2020 to 2024.

Marchand’s extension in Boston should be the first in a line of several for the team this season. The Bruins organization still needs to craft new deals for forwards Trent Frederic, Morgan Geekie, and John Beecher by the start of the 2025-26 season but signing their captain to an early extension puts momentum in the right direction.

Riley Tufte Clears Waivers

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Saturday: Tufte has cleared waivers, Friedman reports.

Friday: The Bruins have placed winger Riley Tufte on waivers for the purpose of assignment to AHL Providence, Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet reports.

It’s no surprise, given how sparsely the 26-year-old has played to start the season. Signed to a one-way, league-minimum deal in the offseason, Tufte made the opening night roster but has been scratched six times in eight games to start the year. When in the lineup, the 6’6″, 230-lb winger has made little impact, posting a -1 rating and three hits while averaging 8:08 per game. He’s yet even to record a shot attempt.

A first-round pick of the Stars back in 2016, Tufte has just 20 NHL appearances to his name with Dallas, Colorado, and Boston, scoring twice and adding an assist. He’s coming off a career-best 23 goals and 45 points in the minors with AHL Colorado last year, adding 91 PIMs in 67 appearances. The Bruins thought that production might translate into him being an effective fourth-line energy piece on a semi-everyday basis, but it hasn’t worked out that way.

As such, the Bruins will open up a roster spot one way or another tomorrow, whether Tufte clears and is sent to the minors or is claimed by another team. They could use that spot to sign Tyler Johnson, who was never released from his professional tryout and is still practicing with the team.

Anton Strålman To Retire

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Longtime NHL defender Anton Strålman has retired, as noted by Robin Olausson of Hockey Sverige. Neither he nor the NHL Alumni Association have made an official announcement, but he’s now joined Swedish women’s soccer club Skultorps IF as a coach, Olausson said.

Strålman’s NHL career all but ended over a year ago. After managing to land a contract off a PTO with the Bruins in training camp in 2022, he failed to stick around at the NHL level, playing just eight games for Boston and spending a good chunk of the 2022-23 campaign in AHL Providence. A free agent last summer, he returned home to put a bookend on his career by suiting up for HV71 of the Swedish Hockey League, where he had 16 points (2 G, 14 A), 10 PIMs, and a -12 rating in 48 games. He added an assist and a +3 rating in their relegation series against IK Oskarshamn to help them stay at the top level of the Swedish pyramid.

The 38-year-old was once one of the more underrated two-way defenders in the NHL. Drafted 216th overall by the Maple Leafs in 2005, Strålman broke into the NHL three years later. After a pair of seasons covering depth bottom-pairing duties for Toronto, he was traded to the Flames and then flipped again to the Blue Jackets in the 2009 offseason.

The move to Columbus is what truly jumpstarted his career. Strålman’s first season in Ohio saw him average over 20 minutes per game and break out for 34 points in 73 contests. He’d regress to a goal and 18 points in 51 games the following year, though, marking the end of his brief stint with the Jackets. He was non-tendered and became a UFA in 2011 at the age of 24, and he needed to wait until after the 2011-12 campaign started to catch on with his next NHL team – the Rangers.

In New York, Strålman’s game never popped offensively, but he did do well to establish himself as a reliable defensive presence who could shoulder second-pairing minutes. He averaged 18:22 per game in the Big Apple with solid possession metrics, posting a 54.3 CF% in front of expert goaltending from Henrik Lundqvist to lead to a cumulative +32 rating in 182 appearances for the Rangers, adding seven goals and 31 assists for 38 points.

That showing boosted his market value significantly heading into free agency in 2014, landing a five-year, $22.5MM deal with the Lightning that stands as the most lucrative contract of his career. His play popped accordingly in Tampa Bay, immediately making an impact with a career-high 30 assists and 39 points in 82 games before the Bolts marched their way to the Stanley Cup Final. Strålman maintained a high level of play in Tampa, averaging around 30 points per 82 games and logging nearly 22 minutes per game, with a cumulative +80 rating across his five-year deal.

Unfortunately, he wasn’t a part of their three straight Stanley Cup Final runs from 2020 to 2022. He priced himself out of Tampa upon reaching free agency again in 2019, instead inking a three-year, $16.5MM contract with the intrastate rival Panthers. That marked the beginning of the end of his NHL career, and by Year 2 of the contract, he’d fallen out of a top-four role. He had nine points in 38 games for Florida in 2020-21, leading them to surrender a second-round pick to dump the final year of his deal at a $5.5MM cap hit on the Coyotes.

Strålman did have a brief resurgence on a thin Arizona blue line, rebounding for 23 points in 74 games in 2021-22 while averaging 21:20 per game. It was his best offensive total in five years, and his highest usage in four, but his once-sparking possession metrics continued to dip below average. He needed the aforementioned PTO with Boston to keep his NHL career alive the following year before heading home in 2023.

All told, Strålman finishes his NHL career with 63 goals, 230 assists, 293 points, a +46 rating, and a 51.3 CF% in 938 appearances while averaging nearly 20 minutes per game. He made the Stanley Cup Final in back-to-back years with the Rangers and Lightning and totaled 26 points and a -4 rating in 113 playoff games. PHR wishes Strålman the best in the next phase of his career.

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